Droppers for bottles



F. CLAUBERG El AL 2,786,611

DROPPERS FOR BOTTLES Filed April 14,- 1953 March 26, 1957 INVENTORS F/lfDR/Cl/ Cl A UBIRG lull/BL? T ff/VOBZ'L ATTO RN EYS nited States Patent DROPPERS FOR BOTTLES Friedrich Clauberg, Solingen, and Hubert Knobel, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, assignors to Farbwerke Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft vormals Meister Lucius d; Bruning, Frankfurt am Main Hochst, Germany, a German company Application April 14, 1953, Serial No. 348,701

Claims priority, application Germany April 19, 1952 2 Claims. (Cl. 222-421) The present invention relates to droppers for standard bottles.

An object of the present invention is to provide a dropper for standard bottles, while making use of a known rod provided with a groove as a drop conveyor. The new dropper can readily be shaped with great accuracy, it can be used for bottles with varying width of the neck, and it may be sealed with the bottle; finally, remainders of the liquid which have not dripped off are caught and reconducted into the bottle.

The dropper consists of a bucket-shaped insert which can be placed into the neck of a bottle; it is provided with a vertical, grooved dropping rod; the bottom of the bucket-shaped insert shows an aperture for the liquid to pass through.

The bucket-shaped insert and the dropping rod mounted therein can be made of a suitable material capable of being shaped with great accuracy, for example a plastic material, and can be adapted by means of a packing ring, or example made of rubber, to the inner diameter of each bottle neck. The rest of the liquid which has not dropped off passes the bucket-shaped insert and returns into the bottle, a wetting of the bottle from outside being thus avoided.

The dropper is closed according to the present invention in a simple manner, while guaranteeing a tight shutting off, by inserting a rubber stopper between the dropping rod and the interiol wall of the bucket-shaped insert; said stopper is pressed in until it reaches the bottom of the bucket-shaped insert and can be removed again.

In order to find out when the frontal side of the stopper reaches the bottom of the bucket-shaped insert so that the opening in the bottom is tightly closed, the stopper is provided, according to the present invention, with an annular step; the distance between the end of the stopper and said step corresponds to the height of the insert.

When the stopper is placed onto the dropper, the annular step is pressed against the upper rim of the insert, whereby it becomes evident that the stopper is in its right position.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the neck of the bottle with the dropper and the covering stopper mounted thereon,

Fig. 2 is a top view, and

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line A-B of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the bucket-shaped insert 3 surrounded by the tightening ring 4 is fitted into the wide neck 1 of the bottle 2.

The bottom 5 of the insert 3 is provided in the centre with a dropping rod 6 being in a vertical position and having a flat surface at its upper free end. The drop ping groove 7 of the rod ends on the bottom 5 in an aperture 8 allowing the liquid to pass.

The dropping rod 6 which projects beyond the upper rim 9 of the bucket-shaped insert 3 is covered by the stopper 10 which is inserted between the dropping rod and the inner wall of the bucket, reaches the bottom 5 and can be removed. The dropping rod 6 enters the hollow space 11 of the stopper.

The stopper 10 has an annular step 12. The distance between the lower end of the stopper and the step corresponds to the height of the insert 3 so that when the step 12 rests on the rim of the insert 3 the aperture 3 destined for the liquid to pass is tightly closed.

in order to prevent untimely removal of the dropper, a band seal 1 .4 is provided which laps over the projecting edge of the bottle-neck 1 and the outer rim 9 of the insert 3. Moreover, the covered dropper, when being destined for dispatch, may be coated in known manner by a lacquer or paper cap.

The dropper is used as follows: The bottle is turned upside down so that the aperture is turned towards the bottom and then held in a vertical position. In this position the liquid trickles in the groove to the upper fiat surface of the dropping rod from which it drops off. Air entering the interior of the bottle as a compensation passes in this case the aperture 8 in the bottom.

If the bottle is turned back into its ordinary position, the liquid in the groove 7 returns through the aperture 8 into the interior of the bottle.

We claim:

1. in combination with a bottle having a neck terminating in an opening, an insert having a wall portion conforming to said opening and seated therein, a flange connected to said wall portion for limiting displacement of said insert into said opening, a bottom for said insert provided with a central hole and an aperture connected therewith, a dropping rod provided with a longitudinal dropping groove, said dropping rod seating snugly in said central hole of said bottom with said dropping groove in communication with said aperture, and a stopper provided with an enlarged shoulder and a recessed interior, said stopper seating in said insert with said shoulder abutting said flange, said dropping rod seating in said recessed interior of said stopper and abutting thereagainst, whereby upon removal of said stopper and inversion of said bottle, liquid contained therein trickles down said dropping groove of said dropping rod and is dispensed in the form of drops.

2. In combination with a bottle having an opening, a bucket-shaped insert seated in said opening and provided with an aperture in its bottom, a substantially vertically disposed dropping rod provided with a dropping groove, said dropping rod being secured to said bottom of said bucket-shaped insert with said dropping groove in communication with said aperture, whereby upon inverting said bottle, liquid contained therein trickles down said groove and is dispensed from said rod in the form of drops, air entering said bottle through said aperture, and a stopper provided with a recess in one end and an enlarged shoulder on the exterior thereof facing said one end, said stopper fitting into said bucket-shaped insert with said dropping rod fitting into said recess of said stopper, said recess being of such depth that said dropping rod abuts the end thereof when said shoulder of said stopper abuts said bucket-shaped insert.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,687,705 Androft Oct. 16, 1928 2,411,435 Kirschenbaum Nov. 19, 1946 2,598,403 Macey May 27, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 765,151 France June 4, 1934 

